


Looking Pretty in a Hotel Bar

by smallnspunky



Series: I Want Something Just Like This [1]
Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter/Funhaus RPF
Genre: Fake AH Crew, M/M, Ryan joining the crew, This turned into a series somewhere along the way oops
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-08
Updated: 2017-05-08
Packaged: 2018-10-29 14:30:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,132
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10855926
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/smallnspunky/pseuds/smallnspunky
Summary: Senior law student Ryan was getting ready to find a career, but wasn't expecting to be recruited at his part time job as a bartender.





	Looking Pretty in a Hotel Bar

Ryan got in for his shift late. It wasn’t his fault. Maybe a little bit, but there was bad traffic and his bus was late. His manager didn’t need to know that he absolutely knew his bus was going to be late and he totally could have taken the earlier bus. But his school work was getting the best of him. 

Here he was, a hotel bartender picking up extra shifts to put himself through law school. He had enough scholarships to pay tuition, it was just rent. Well, rent, and he liked eating well and dressing well, he liked staying busy and flirting with the cute business men at the hotel. He had this one semester left, and then he’d be on the other side of the bar, an established lawyer with money to spare and a beautiful man hanging on his arm. Soon. 

He dropped his bag in the staff room and grabbed his apron, hurrying across the floor to take his place behind the bar. He quickly wiped down the perfectly kept bar, not a single ring marring the dark wood, as patrons started slowly entering the bar.

It wasn’t long before he fell into the rhythm of the night. It was a Tuesday night, not many patrons, and not as boisterous as the weekend. He liked working weeknights, it was hell on his sleep schedule and made staying awake in class nearly impossible, but he liked the quieter atmosphere and getting to talk to the customers instead of jumping from order to order.

“Hey, Rye, did you catch the game last night?” Jessica, a server, leaned over the bar as she passed him a list of drink orders. 

“Unfortunately, no. I had a midterm in my Criminal Law class and was up late studying,” He passed the drinks across the bar to her. “Who won?”  
Jessica let out a chuckle, “Honestly, I have no idea. I went home with the cute new bellhop and didn’t remember the game until this morning. I was hoping you’d seen it so I wouldn’t have to watch the highlight reel later.”

Ryan laughed as Jessica walked away from the bar. She regularly used sports as a way to “bond” with the patrons, or something like that. She didn’t really care for it, but she did care about getting better tips. 

He let himself get lost in the chatter of the men and women at the bar, his mind resting from the stress of law school. 

He was talking to a cute business man from Spain when his attention was caught by a man sliding onto a barstool in the corner. Ryan didn’t know if it was the beach blonde hair or the delicate gold chains or the aviators that caught his eye first, but this man glowed. He quickly excused himself from his conversation to take the other man’s order. 

“What can I get you?” The other man looked up, green eyes peeking over the top of his aviators.

“I’ll have a mojito, please,” He had a charming British accent, and flashed a dazzling smile before Ryan turned away. 

As Ryan prepared the drink, among a few others, he couldn’t shake the feeling that he knew that man. There was something oddly familiar about the eyes and smile, if nothing else. 

He put the drink in front the flashy gold man with a quiet “Let me know if there’s anything else I can get you” and made to resume his conversation with the Spanish man. 

“Yes, love, can I have one of those little umbrellas?”

“Excuse me?”

“Y’know, one of those little tropical fruity umbrellas. I just can’t drink anything unless it’s appropriately accessorized,” He flashed another smile.

Ryan returned with a few umbrellas, in assorted colors, “Which color would you like?”

“Ooh, I do love options!” The man pushed his sunglasses up and leaned towards Ryan, not looking at the umbrellas, “I’ll take the pink one.”

Ryan smiled and gently placed the pink umbrella in his drink, turning away again.

“Wait, one more thing!”

Ryan again turned around to see the man’s smiling face, “Yes?”

“Can I have your number?”

Ryan chuckled, “Straightforward, I like that.” He glanced towards the Spanish business man, but he was deep in conversation with another patron at the bar.

He sighed and leaned against the bar, “Can I get your name first?”

The man smiled, “David. David James.”

“If you’re going for James Bond, which you could with that accent of yours, it’s last name first.”

David chuckled, “I wasn’t, but I’ll remember that next time.”

His laugh sounded familiar. Ryan had definitely met this guy before.

“Well, David James, what do you do for a living?”

“Oh, this and that. I’m currently in, um, public relations.”

“Public relations, huh. Sounds fascinating.” Ryan knew how to hold a conversation and keep a patron happy. It was part of what made him a great lawyer to be. 

“Oh it is! I meet lots of interesting people. That’s the best part.” David turned to take a sip of his drink, his earring catching the dim light of the room.

“You don’t dress like any PR agents I’ve met before.”

David laughed, choked on his drink, and let out a funny squawk. 

“That’s because they have no sense of style. And I’m not a PR agent in the traditional sense.” He replied, quickly regaining his composure.

The squawk triggered Ryan’s memory. This man was just like his roommate junior year. A gangly awkward British freshman too obsessed with his cameras to actually go to class. His name wasn’t David though, and he definitely didn’t dress like that, at least as far as Ryan remembered. It was a faint memory. He hadn’t thought about his old roommate in years. Not since he had moved out. 

“So what brings you here?” Ryan continued, unsure if he was making things up or had actually found a connection to David. 

“Oh, just work. I’ve got a deal in the morning I’ve got to lock down. The, um, company I work for has a lot riding on the deal.” David swirled his drink with the umbrella as he spoke.

Ryan saw Jessica out of the corner of his eye approaching the bar with a tray of empty glasses.

“Excuse me for one second, David. Duty calls.”

David flashed a smile as Ryan rose to meet Jessica and to fill orders for the few other patrons at the bar.

“Ryan, who’s the cutie in the corner?” Jessica whispered, like it was a secret, like the man wasn’t sparkling in the dim lights. 

Ryan chuckled, “David. A PR agent who doesn’t know how to blend in.”

“I’ll say. Did you get his number?” Jessica loaded the fresh drinks onto her tray, “I guess it doesn’t really matter, he’ll be gone in three days and you’ll never see him again.”

Ryan passed her the last of the drinks, “I haven’t gotten his number. Yet.”

“Ooh a yet!” Jessica laughed as she walked away from the bar, “Better get on that.”

Ryan smiled, filled a few more drinks, and brought another fruity concoction with a little green umbrella to David.

“So, what kind of company do you work for?”

David looked uncomfortable for a brief moment, “It’s a, sorta, um, a kind of organization that specializes in, um, investments and acquisitions.”

Ryan raised an eyebrow, “Sounds interesting. And like nothing I’ve ever heard before. Is it a startup?”

“Yeah, in a sense of the word. We’re just starting out, and it’s across the country, so it’s definitely unlike anything here.”

David seemed to relax and started swirling his drink with his umbrella again. Ryan watched as his face relaxed into careful indifference.

“Have you been around here before?” Ryan tried, cautiously trying to determine if they had met before.

“Years ago. It’s been, what, like, five or six now.” He rested his face on his hands, arms propped up on the bar. 

Five years ago was his junior year. He got his undergrad at the college where he was now attending law school, mostly for convenience. But, if David had been around five years ago. . .

“What brought you here last time?” Ryan ventured.

“School,” David answered without breaking eye contact.

“There aren’t too many British people around here, especially up around campus. Did you know a guy named Gavin?” Ryan tried to act nonchalant about it.

“Yeah, Rye Bread. I did.”

With that sentence it all came flooding back at once. The good and the bad. 

Ryan and Gavin curled up watching TV together after getting homework done. Ryan and Gavin cooking (and burning) dinner together. Ryan watching Gavin sleep in his arms in the early mornings before he had to get up for class. Gavin quietly whispering “I love you, Rye Bread” as he climbed into bed. Gavin always taking pictures of Ryan: Ryan doing homework, Ryan getting ready for bed, Ryan sweeping the kitchen. Ryan and Gavin walking hand in hand around campus on bright spring days. Gavin coming home too drunk one night and looking for a fight. Ryan yelling at Gavin for his irresponsibility and carefree attitude about life. Gavin screaming at Ryan for spending so much time on homework instead of with him. Ryan yelling at Gavin for never appreciating that he was working so hard for him. For his future. For their future. Ryan sleeping on the uncomfortable futon. Gavin leaving early the next morning without so much as goodbye. Ryan working twice as hard, never thinking of Gavin again. He moved. He got new clothes and dishes and furniture and a job to distract him from the loss in his life. From losing Gavin.

***

“A lawyer? What do we need a lawyer for?” Ray was gesturing wildly, almost knocking Geoff’s coffee off the conference table.

“Because, dear Ray,” Geoff said, saving his coffee, “When you get arrested again we’re gonna somebody to show up and look official, and all the better if they actually have a law degree.”

Ray slumped in his chair, admitting defeat.

“Where are we gonna find a fucking lawyer who’s gonna sign up to work for gang?” Michael asked. 

Geoff shrugged, Jack shrugged, Gavin piped up.

“I know a guy.”

He felt the eyes of the other men on him as he stared at Geoff, “I had a roommate in college who was planning on going to law school. As far as I know he went through with it. I’ll see if I can find him.”

Geoff gave him the go ahead and the next day he was on a plane to find his ex-boyfriend.

It wasn’t hard, not for him anyway. This is what he did. He found people and persuaded them not to mess with the Fake AH Crew.

He slipped into the bar, planning on scoping the place out for a bit before ordering. He hoped to get a feel for Ryan, for who Ryan had become, before telling him why he needed Ryan to leave with him. He prayed Ryan wouldn’t recognize him immediately. 

“What can I get you?” A deep voice asked.

He looked up, paralyzed for half a second.

“I’ll have a mojito, please.” He flashed a smile.

Ryan was here. He was still real. He was still tall and handsome and still had those killer blue eyes he could drown in. 

“Pull yourself together. It’s a job. Nothing more,” He murmured to himself, knowing it was more than just a job. 

Ryan returned quickly with his drink. 

“Let me know if there’s anything else I can get you,” Ryan said, turning to leave.

Gavin panicked for half a second, he needed Ryan to stay and talk, before he remembered his character. He wasn’t Gavin. He was David James - front man for the Fake AH Crew. He could do this. 

“Yes, love, can I have one of those little umbrellas?” He blurted out.

“Excuse me?” Ryan half turned, confused. 

“Y’know, one of those little tropical fruity umbrellas. I just can’t drink anything unless it’s appropriately accessorized,” He flashed another smile, becoming David James again.

Ryan chuckled quietly as he walked away. God, Gavin missed his laugh. 

“Which color would you like?”

“Ooh, I do love options!” He pushed his sunglasses up into his messy hair, keeping eye contact with Ryan. “I’ll take the pink one.”

Ryan smiled and gently placed the pink umbrella in his drink, turning away again.

“Wait, one more thing!”

Gavin was frantically thinking of something to say to keep Ryan here, but kept his smile on his face. 

“Yes?”

“Can I have your number?”

Gavin kicked himself inwardly. What a dumb thing to say.

Ryan chuckled, “Straightforward, I like that. Can I get your name first?”

Gavin smiled. As dumb as the question was, it worked. 

“David. David James.”

“If you’re going for James Bond, which you could with that accent of yours, it’s last name first.”

Gavin tried to keep himself from laughing, “I wasn’t, but I’ll remember that next time.”

“Well, David James, what do you do for a living?”

Shit. Usually everyone he needed to talk to already knew who he was and what he wanted. 

“Oh, this and that. I’m currently in, um, public relations.”

“Public relations, huh. Sounds fascinating.”

Gavin quickly switched back into the confident and suave David. 

“Oh it is! I meet lots of interesting people. That’s the best part.” Gavin took a sip of his drink, trying to keep his nerves down. 

“You don’t dress like any PR agents I’ve met before.”

Gavin, again, tried not to laugh and choked on his drink. He let out an embarrassing squawk as he tried to recover. 

“That’s because they have no sense of style. And I’m not a PR agent in the traditional sense.” He replied, quickly regaining his composure, returning to David.

“So what brings you here?” 

“Oh, just work. I’ve got a deal in the morning I’ve got to lock down. The, um, company I work for has a lot riding on the deal.” Gavin swirled his drink with the umbrella. It technically was a business deal. The deal just happened to be recruiting Ryan.

“Excuse me for one second, David. Duty calls.”

Gavin followed Ryan’s gaze to a server approaching the bar. He smiled and nodded as Ryan walked away.

He fought himself from getting up and leaving. It was too much. He was still in love with Ryan and no amount of alcohol or his persona of David James would keep him from botching this deal before morning. 

He debated with himself, trying to assess the best time to reveal to Ryan that he was the Gavin he hoped he remembered. 

Ryan returned with another drink, this time with a little green umbrella.

“So, what kind of company do you work for?”

Gavin panicked again, not even knowing enough about traditional business to come up with a convincing lie immediately. 

“It’s a, sorta, um, a kind of organization that specializes in, um, investments and acquisitions.”

Ryan raised an eyebrow, “Sounds interesting. And like nothing I’ve ever heard before. Is it a startup?”

“Yeah,” What the hell is a startup? “In a sense of the word. We’re just starting out, and it’s across the country, so it’s definitely unlike anything here.”

Gavin swirled his drink some more, carefully composing his face so as to not give anything away.

“Have you been around here before?”

Oh, God, here it comes. Gavin didn’t panic, but felt calm. He was sure Ryan recognized him. If he didn’t yet, he would soon. 

“Years ago. It’s been, what, like, five or six now.” It would be nice to be with Ryan again. Even if Ryan refused to come with him.

“What brought you here last time?” Ryan asked.

“School,” Gavin answered, staring into Ryan’s beautiful blue eyes.

“There aren’t too many British people around here, especially up around campus. Did you know a guy named Gavin?”

“Yeah, Rye Bread. I did.”

Ryan’s face went from confusion to understanding to sadness in a matter of seconds.

Gavin placed his hand gently over Ryan’s, his soft skin giving Gavin chills, “I’ll be here until close. You take care of work and whatever else you need to. I’ll wait for you here.”

***

“So you’re a thief?”

“Um, not exactly.”

“A gang member?”

“Sorta.”

Ryan sighed.

“We’re a crew.”

“A crew that commits crimes.”

“Well, yes.”

“And you want me to come with you?”

“That’s the idea, yeah.”

“Because I’m a lawyer.”

Gavin hummed his confirmation.

“I’m not a lawyer yet. I have another semester.”

“Well, you can finish school, and then come join us in Los Santos.”

Ryan shook his head, leaning against the wall. He looked around the room, taking comfort in the familiar paintings and generic blankets and bedsheets. He had been in plenty of the rooms in the hotel. Usually leaving early in the morning, catching the early bus, and going back to class. But Gavin’s presence reminded Ryan that it wasn’t just any other man’s room he was in. Gavin was here. Gavin was real. Gavin was no longer a vague memory he had repressed into nothingness.

And Ryan was still in love.

Gavin was asking Ryan to uproot his entire life, turn down the offers he’d already gotten from different law firms, and move across the country to join Gavin and a crew he had never met before. 

“Gav,” Ryan paused, “Why me? You don’t even know me anymore. It’s been five years since you left, and I’ve spent most of that trying to forget you. I’ve moved on, Gavin. I got a new job, started law school, heck, almost finished law school! I’m not the Ryan you used to know.”

“Ryan, if you’re half the student you were when we were dating, you’re the best law student in the country. And, if you’re half the man you were when I met you, you have the guts to defend criminals and won’t be happy with a boring lawyer job and having to wear a suit all the time.”

Ryan let out a low chuckle, “You might be right about the suit thing.”

“Please, we need you.”

Ryan looked at the other man, trying to fit this golden boy into his memory of the boy he loved. His hair was no longer perfectly styled, his sunglasses were on the bedside table, his golden makeup was smudged, his leather jacket had been thrown over a chair at some point, but he was still so glamorous. So unlike his awkward gangly roommate he had fallen in love with so many years before. 

“I need you, Rye Bread.”

Gavin said it so quietly, just above a whisper, and it broke Ryan’s heart. He knew he would follow this man wherever he led.

“I’ll need some time to think,” Ryan lied, “I’ll let you know by the end of the week.”

Ryan stood quickly, leaving the room without looking back.

***

Gavin sat alone in his hotel room. He should text Geoff, let him know he’d be home a little later than he expected. He wanted to call Michael and Ray. He needed comfort more than he wanted to admit. 

He looked to where Ryan was sitting just moment before, the comforter still holding his shape in its folds. 

_Lovely Ryan, I do hope you’ll choose me._

He stretched and sighed, standing up to retrieve his phone from his jacket pocket. He quickly typed a message to Geoff: _I made the offer, he’ll get back to me by the end of the week._ He considered leaving the hotel, maybe finding another bar to lose himself in, but quickly put the notion away. He was tired, disheveled, and needed his own time to think. 

He tossed his phone on the bed and went to the restroom, he needed to take his makeup off, and might as well shower too. He was almost startled by his own reflection. It wasn’t that his eyeliner was smudged, a cloud of gold shimmer around his eyes, or that he could see the bags under his eyes, or that his hair was a ruffled disaster. Rather, it was that spending time with Ryan took him back to before he was David James, before he had joined the Fake AH Crew, before he had dropped out of college. He almost expected to see the Gavin he was five years ago. The Gavin who had initially fallen head over heels for his nerd roommate who cared too much about his grades. 

_Well, if he chooses to join the crew, all that care for schoolwork really worked out to our advantage in the end._

He turned the shower on as hot as it would go and half-heartedly wiped at his face with a makeup wipe. He undressed quickly and slipped into the shower, letting the hot water wash away all his pent up tension about meeting Ryan again.

***

It was Friday night at the bar was crowded. Ryan got in for his shift, on time, and quickly took his place at the bar. He nodded to the other bartender, and scanned the crowd for a certain blonde. Tonight was the night he would tell Gavin his decision. His decision to move across the country in four months and join a crew with a bunch of possibly mad men he had never met. But he’d be with Gavin. And he trusted Gavin, even after all this time. 

“Hey, Ryan!” Jessica called from across the bar, he hadn’t seen her since Tuesday, “How did things go with that PR guy? Did you end up getting his number?”

“I didn’t get his number, but I did end up in his hotel room.” Ryan winked as he passed Jessica the last of her drinks. 

Jessica laughed gently, “Check you out, you naughty -”

“Excuse me,” Gavin materialized beside her, “Could I get a mojito, please? With one of those little umbrellas?”

Jessica stared for a second, having never seen Gavin up close in all his frontman sparkle, before taking her tray of drinks back into the crowd, flashing one more smile at Ryan. Ryan gently set his drink on the bar, leaning forward, “It’s good to see you again.”

Gavin smiled, taking a sip of his drink, “Have you made a decision? The rest of the crew is anxiously waiting for my text, and, if I’m being honest, I’m ready to leave this town.”

Ryan smiled, gingerly taking Gavin’s hand in his own, “I’ll come with you, Gavin. If I’m being honest, I’d follow you anywhere.” He quickly raised Gavin’s hands to his lips, and gently kissed it before leaving to tend to his other customers. 

He glanced at Gavin, saw a blush rising in his cheeks as he awkwardly tried to play off his bashfulness by finishing his drink. 

***

“So where is this guy?” Ray popped his bubble gum as they waited outside after the graduation ceremony. 

“He’ll be coming soon! Be patient.” Gavin was practically bouncing, trying to see over the crowd of proud parents and spouses and kids. 

“He better be as handsome as you said he was,” Geoff started, “Otherwise I’ll be really disappointed.”

Jack patted Geoff’s shoulder, “I’m sure Gavin has wonderful taste in men, and Ryan will be the prince charming you’re hoping for.”

Michael laughed, “Gavin doesn’t have wonderful taste in anything. Have you seen those fucking sunglasses?”

They all laughed, but Gavin either didn’t know or didn’t care that it was at his expense.

“There he is! Ryan! Over here!” Gavin took off through the crowd, leaving his crew behind.

“Rye Bread! I’m sorry we weren’t here for the ceremony, we got lost on the way here.” Gavin had taken Ryan’s diploma and his hand, practically dragging him back to the crew, and talking a million miles a minute, “Geoff is rubbish at directions, luckily Jack spotted a sign pointing the right direction and we made it here just as the ceremony was ending.”

Ryan chuckled, “I’m glad you were able to make it.”

“That’s the crew over there! They’re so excited to meet you.”

They stopped in front of the other men and Ryan took them all in. They were an odd group of men, that’s for sure. 

“You must be Geoff,” Ryan held his hand out to the man in the suit.

Geoff took his hand, shaking it warmly, “That’s right,” He paused, “Gavin wasn’t wrong. You do have amazingly blue eyes, but that graduation robe isn’t doing anything for your figure.”

The crew laughed as Ryan blushed. They crushed themselves around him, introducing themselves as they pulled him along to their car. Ryan smiled at Gavin, who hadn’t let go of his hand, and, for the first time in a long time, was excited about what the future held.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! This took a lot of inspiration from Closer by The Chainsmokers. This is the first in a series about the Fake AH Crew with more inspiration from The Chainsmokers.


End file.
